HE said — SHE said

Allowing the POGO not to pay taxes would mean letting go of billions of opportunities to raise funds for the government’s programs.

Last I checked, nothing and nobody is untaxed in this country.

The tax we pay is the lifeblood of our nation, next to its people. No government project moves without our taxes.

Not even the churches, supposedly exempted from paying government dues, can escape them. While donations that come its way are not subject to taxes, the cement poured into its foundations down to the candles lit are paid with taxes.

Schools are taxed. Hospitals are taxed. Even the poorest of the poor are taxed.

Check their last purchase of instant noodles.

It is a misnomer that the underground economy — those who own sari-sari stores, or the sidewalk vendors, do not pay taxes. Everything they sell has been taxed. These same items get taxed again when resold. The process repeats until these items get used or consumed.

It is also false to claim that our only escape from paying taxes is through death. We pay taxes for the coffin and burial grounds we have reserved for ourselves.

The meals we will prepare for the loved ones to pay us their last respects, the flowers to make ourselves quite lovely in the end — and yes, the candles — will be taxed. There’s no escape until our final moment on earth.

So, it was really surprising that a government official in Solicitor General Jose Calida had backed the non-payment of taxes by Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) on what not a few claimed was a false premise.

“The opinion of the OSG does not serve the interest of the country,” said Sen. Franklin Drilon as he twitted Calida for saying that government cannot tax POGO as they only receive bets from bettors from outside the Philippines.

Drilon called Calida’s opinion as “erroneous, misplaced and misguided.” He hit the mark right on the center. A gold, no doubt.

“Pursuant to the National Internal Revenue Code, the power to interpret the provisions of this Code and other tax laws shall be under the exclusive and original jurisdiction of the Commissioner, subject to review by the Secretary of Finance,” Drilon said.

“Second, the government has the right to tax POGO, consistent with the position of the economic managers. POGO owe the government billions in unpaid taxes. The OSG should leave the matter to the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) and DoF (Department of Finance),” Drilon said.

The DoF has long been wanting to generate more taxes from POGO operators which have sprouted all over the country in recent years. Allowing the POGO not to pay taxes would mean letting go of billions of opportunities to raise funds for the government’s programs.

It does not look like the House Committee of ways and Means will allow it, too.

The panel has unanimously approved House Bill 5267 which seeks to impose a five percent franchise tax and a 25 percent withholding tax for foreign workers earning at least P600,000 annually in the country.

Majority of these workers are Chinese. They are the ones we see crossing the street, spending time at malls, in queue with you at the grocery. They are common fixtures now, their number multiplying each year since POGO arrived on our shores.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda expects government to raise P45 billion in taxes from them annually. Imagine how many SEA Games cauldrons we could build with that amount.

It seems Calida is alone with the Chinese gambling firms in pushing for the tax exemption.

Because if we cannot drive illegal foreign workers away, we had better tax them properly and earn from their people’s gambling addiction.

Is he determined to give Chinese business operators a free ride?

Last Monday, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon slammed a comment made by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) that the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) cannot be taxed.

SolGen Jose Calida had submitted an opinion to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that POGO cannot be taxed based on the “source of income” principle under the country’s tax code.

In reports, Calida explained that the test of taxability “is the source and correspondingly, the source of an income is that activity which produced the income.”

Drilon said this view is “misplaced and misguided” as it does not benefit the country and could put the country’s tax system in question. Not only that, the remark was careless and overstepping.

It seems many agree with the veteran politician as the House committee on ways and means on the same day unanimously approved a bill that seeks to impose taxes on said POGO and their workers.

House Bill 5267 sets a “five percent franchise tax on POGO and another 25 percent tax on the salaries of its workers with a minimum threshold of P600,000 per year.”

With Drilon pointing out the strangeness of the OSG delivering an opinion of this sort — with the OSG having no jurisdiction over such a matter — methinks it could be a twisted ploy to raise a hue and cry over the perceived deluge of Chinese business and employment in the metro.

Then again, seeing as our tax laws are under the purview of both BIR and the Department of Finance (DoF), what are these two government bodies doing about it?

So many questions, and already so many Chinese Mainlanders flooding the streets of Manila!

Don’t get me wrong. Business is business, and billions of pesos in taxes from these new business is nothing to sniff about.

And if the fact that Filipinos are noticing so many non-Filipinos walking among them, buying up condominiums like hotcakes or traveling to touristy spots in our archipelago, it is because the proliferation of such workers can no longer be denied.

The question we are left to ponder on is how did this happen so fast? What controls do we have against a possible invasion of a different sort?

The current discussion on imposing taxes on POGO and their workers certainly brings up the positive aspect of having these business operators here. It will bring in massive revenues for the country, badly needed for our aggressive push for progress in the age of technology and globalization.

It also puts forth the possible areas where government needs to tighten its sails if it wants a smooth ride ahead. It cannot be complacent about these glaring changes that even the most ordinary Juan recognizes and lives with, even as he continues to struggle with his daily concerns, not least of which are the taxes he pays and needs to see working for him, even if it takes a few more years.

Government must make sure the country gets its due, and our leaders must not waste time arguing over a non-issue.

POGO chooses to conduct business here, then they are subject to our tax laws as are the countless other foreign-run businesses here. It’s only fair, indeed.